Page 66 of Deep Down
Chapter 24
Craig
With his hands in his jacket pocket, the fingers of his right hand worrying the ripped seam, Craig entered the restaurant. He had no idea why he’d chosen to go there today of all days. His sessions had changed from three o’clock to four-thirty, and Craig had taken it upon himself to buy a drink before he wandered up there.
He stared straight ahead as he queued up behind a tiny, grey-haired lady. Craig didn’t want to scan the sea of faces and be disappointed when Alex was missing. Because it was why he was here, wasn’t it? He frowned and chewed on his bottom lip. His stomach muscles were tight enough to keep him upright when his legs felt like jelly. He inhaled shakily as he placed his order—a cup of tea to go.
Paying for his tea, he drifted to the station to add some milk before having no other choice but to pivot and glance around.
His gaze went straight to their usual table. His heart stalled as he recognised Alex, sitting staring out the window. His knees locked, his muscles tensed and his hand shook—luckily, the takeaway cup had a lid on it; otherwise, he’d have burned his hand. Remembering the information Amanda gave him about analysing his responses, he identified his fight or flight response. He could leave, or he could go over there and speak to Alex.
His body took over the choice before he’d finished the thought, his feet carrying him slowly to their table. Craig swallowed against his dry throat as he stopped next to Alex. Alex didn’t react straight away, and it gave Craig a chance to study him.
There was tension in Alex that Craig didn’t remember from before, lines around his eyes and across his forehead. Alex’s hands absently twisted his cup around in circles.
Alex glanced towards Craig and away again. Not one second later, Alex’s head whipped around, and he stood abruptly, his mouth flapping.
“Hey.” Craig restrained his impulse to laugh at Alex’s expression. “May I?” He indicated the seat opposite Alex.
Alex nodded. “Is everything okay?” Alex sat again, staring at Craig.
Craig fidgeted, feeling like a bug under a microscope.
“Yeah. I…um…my session time changed. I…uh…thought I’d get a drink first. I didn’t expect to see you.” Craig winced when his words elicited a clenching in Alex’s jaw. “Sorry, I meant, I didn’t think you’d be here at this time.” Craig rubbed his hand across his forehead. “Never mind.” His words were not helping the situation.
They sat in awkward silence, and Craig stared out of the window, recalling the times they had sat there before. Two wholly opposite meetings as far as he was concerned.
Craig tried to fill the quiet, “Did your parents have a good anniversary?”
Alex raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Yeah. I have plenty of brownie points now.” He snorted. “Ella gave me a heap of credit, but she did all the heavy lifting, so to speak.”
“That’s nice of her.”
“How have you been?” The words shot out of Alex’s mouth, and Craig heard the snap of Alex’s teeth as he closed his mouth with a grimace.
Craig cleared his throat and slurped his tea before answering. “Good. I’ve been redecorating a bit. My brothers redesigned my office as a surprise when I was at work one day. And I bought a new glass cabinet for my paperweights.” Craig bit his lip to keep himself from talking.
“Sounds great. Why paperweights?” Alex leaned forward onto the table and crossed his arms.
“Um…I’ve always collected them, and they got…broken.” Craig diverted from the reason they were broken as quickly as he could. “I’m replacing them slowly. What have you been up to?” Craig sipped his tea again.
“Working, going out with the guys—” Alex closed his mouth with an audible clack of his teeth again, eyes wide before glancing at the table, his fingers twisting his cup.
“You alright?” Craig tilted his head, unable to read Alex’s expression.
“Um, yeah. I...uh…I’ve been seeing someone.” Alex’s voice was quiet, but the words sounded like they had come through a megaphone.
Craig sat back in his chair, breathing uneasily through his open mouth as he swiped his hand through his hair then rubbed it across his mouth. His gaze swept across the table, avoiding Alex’s stare as he tried to regain his equilibrium.
How could Alex have found someone else so quickly? Did he not care for Craig as he had thought Alex did? Had Craig blown their whole relationship up to be something it wasn’t—or isn’t? He refrained from screaming—but it was a close call—and attempted to conceal his thoughts as quickly as he could.
“That’s great,” he managed to say in a normal, albeit high voice.
“Thanks. It’s fairly new.”
Craig kept his head down but felt heat entering his cheeks when he realised he had been hoping Alex would wait forhim. He didn’t know why because there was no way he was ready to hurtle into any relationship. He shook his head. Of course, he shouldn’t wait. Alex was a catch. The guy was lucky to have him.
Craig checked the clock on the wall of the restaurant. “I have to go. It was nice seeing you again.” But I won’t any longer, he left unsaid. He stood and weaved through the tables.
